Snowed In
by KennBoKenn
Summary: Out of supplies, freezing and with S.T.O.R.M hot on their tail, what should've been a short cut through the mountains to the next town over quickly becomes a living nightmare when Dax and Jinja take a fall down the mountain side. Now it's a matter of surviving while Chase, Bren and Beyal get help. Jinja x Dax. Rated T for suggestive themes, survival themes and language. R&R.


**A/N: Hey guys! I'm KennBoKenn and this is my first _Monsuno_ fic I have uploaded in a long time!**

 **This fandom played a huge part in getting me through a really hard time years ago and when I thought of this idea I got so excited because I knew it meant I'd have an excuse to jump back into the community (yay!), which I can't even believe is still going strong after all this time! Monsuno is criminally underrated.**

 **I actually stayed up all night writing this one! And it ended up a crap ton longer than I expected (34 pages??)**

 **This one's a Jinja x Dax fic and can take place whenever you see fit in the official story. I was going to make this a one shot but the more I wrote, the more I realized I could make this so much more, so this will be a multi-chapter fic.**

 **Before I start, of course I don't own _Monsuno_ and I am just elaborating on the world and the main story, kudos to the dudes and dudettes that made it!**

 **And with all that out the way, I hope you enjoy this story! Please read and review!**

 **OoOoOoOoOo**

 **Snow Storm - Chapter One**

Jinja couldn't believe the things she'd seen and the person she'd become in six months.

Six months on the road with her two best friends, a monk and a former enemy and she swore she'd manifested into a whole new person.

Someone tougher, someone stronger, her short fuse and _no bullshit_ personality the only thing about her unchanged.

In six short months Jinja's whole life had turned upside down and she'd found herself facing battles and challenges she'd never encounter back home.

Fighting S.T.O.R.M.

Coming head to head with Medea.

Taking on Charlemagne.

Trying to decipher the rising iron fist of Eklipse.

And, of course, taking on the fate of the five.

Taking on the burden of the five was a task not easily accomplished. The fate of Monsuno and the world rested on their shoulders, a burden not merely assigned to just anyone.

Beyal, Chase, Bren, Dax and Jinja had to succeed, there was no question about that.

Jinja couldn't imagine what the world would become if they failed, or even begin to comprehend what society would become.

It was a hefty task, Jinja knew that from the moment she signed up.

And she had never been one to shy away from adventure.

Jinja had wholly jumped at the opportunity to start anew and leave everything she knew behind, to travel down roads unknown and see places untouched with the two boys she considered brothers.

The things she'd seen, the things she'd heard, the feelings she felt and the experiences she'd had; Jinja knew she'd have a hard time explaining her adventures to the people she left behind and how they, on the flip side, would have a hard time understanding them.

Setting out to find Chase's father, Jeredy Suno, had been the biggest decision of her life but she'd made it with ease.

And it had turned out to be one of the better decisions she'd made.

Jinja was helping one of her best friends in the whole world track down a man important to him with the only other boy she considered to be family, Bren.

So far, keeping tabs on Chase's Dad was proving to be tricky, it was like every time he was within their grasp he moved just a little bit more out of their reach.

The important thing was that they were making steady headway, and that in itself was already a success.

Jinja had also met a plethora of people from all over the globe.

Kind people who had welcomed her into their homes and helped her, Chase and Bren, and sometimes Beyal and Dax, on their journey.

She'd also encountered her fair share of not so kind people, spies, enemies, Eklipse and S.T.O.R.M who had sought to make the road treacherous and difficult.

Jinja had also made friends too.

Beyal, the soft spoken monk from the far off mountains, bent on seeing out the prophecy of the five, loyal and selfless.

 _And kind of cute._

Beyal liked to meditate and seemed to be in harmony with the earth, in sync with everything living around him and able to whisper to the trees.

He was peaceful and in control.

Short.

Purple eyed.

Vegetarian.

Beyal was beautiful and illusive like a spirit, always just a little too out of Jinja's grasp.

Beyal had left everything he'd ever known to accompany the three on what he knew was a journey that he may potentially never return from, and even knowing all that stood in his way, he had packed up his few belongings and left the mountain side without so much as a second thought.

He and Jinja had become quite close, good friends.

Jinja kind of hoped one day they might be _more than friends._

But sometimes that felt like wishful thinking.

As much as Jinja liked Beyal, she knew he had bigger things to worry about than potentially becoming her first boyfriend.

A large portion of the fate of the world rested in his palms and she could respect that.

And she couldn't possibly forget Dax.

 _Dax._

Dax needed no introduction, the tough as nails boy from the Lowlands with a glare like steel who posed a wicked hand for fighting both with Monsuno and with his fists.

At first glance, Dax looked more brawn than brains but many an enemy had fallen to that illusion.

Dax was as sharp as a knife, dangerously clever in an obscure way and chock full of wit.

He was a bit of a silver tongue, good at convincing people to do things for him and getting him out of trouble, even though Jinja knew he was full of shit.

Dax had been one of the more interesting people Jinja had come to call her ' _friend_ ', if ' _friend_ ' was even the right word for it.

She bickered with him constantly and he lived to see her on the brink of rage and all riled up.

But deep down, she found that she did actually care for him, and whether he lived or died.

At the best of times, Dax was a pretty reasonable person and made for good company.

Even though Jinja couldn't stand the sight of his shit-eating grin gleaming at her from across the camp site every night when he'd taken something of hers just to get a reaction out of her.

Often it'd be something like her prized hair brush, or the last chicken wing that he knew Beyal had saved for her.

Sometimes she wondered if he purposely annoyed her just to get her to pay some attention to him, not caring if said attention was good or bad.

Maybe he liked it when she paid attention to him because he wanted her time.

But even if that was the case, it was a real funny way of vying for her affections.

She didn't know where they stood, and honestly, it wasn't at the top of her priority list to find out.

And lately he was really getting on her nerves, she was finding it harder to keep her cool.

Friends ( _and Dax_ ) aside, it wasn't only the people that Jinja had met that had swept her off her feet.

Jinja had traversed some of the strangest, out-there locations on the journey of the five.

From the Lowlands, to grassy hillsides to hollowed out dams and abandoned townships, Jinja had seen it all.

Even harrowingly beautiful, but undeniably deadly, icy and forgotten frozen wastelands.

One of the things that really struck Jinja were these mountain sides, these harsh wintery landscapes that reminded Jinja just how far she was from her sunny, cosily warm hometown.

And funilly enough, that is exactly where she had found herself today.

Desperately in need of supplies and a long rest, staking it out in a camp site overnight wasn't an option today.

If they didn't starve, they'd freeze to death by morning, and they'd come way too far to have their journey end over something so menial.

With S.T.O.R.M on the lookout and hot on the five's tail, Chase and co. had spent the last four days on the run, deciding to cut through the frozen wastelands from the forest glens in the hope of S.T.O.R.M losing face in the sight of the oncoming blizzard and turn back the way they came.

This had not been the case, S.T.O.R.M had not only persisted with a renewed vigour in trying to hunt the five down, but in four days the five had watched in dismay as what was left of their already tiny amount of supplies had disappeared.

Trying to make the situation turn in their favour, Chase had proposed that the quickest and safest way to the next town over for a well deserved rest and a much needed stock up, was to go direct through the mountain side.

A route avoided by locals and outsiders alike, S.T.O.R.M would be one less thing to worry about and instead the five could focus on surviving the elements.

As dangerous and crazy as Jinja was sure that sounded to any reasonable human being, Chase was right.

Everything else considered, it really was the fastest and safest option available to them.

It was a bit of a risk, with the five not having any protective snow gear or any equipment to make the task more manageable, but upon Beyal's insisting everyone's safety if they stuck together, everyone unanimously agreed that taking the only other route available to them, which involved walking along a main road, would certainly lead to another run in with S.T.O.R.M.

And even if they has chose the latter and S.T.O.R.M didn't do them in, there was always the possibility that they might run into one of S.T.O.R.M's many spies posing as a charitable stranger.

And if S.T.O.R.M knew they planned to stop over for the next couple of days, they'd have no choice but to keep on moving.

And that also _wasn't_ an option.

There was no way S.T.O.R.M would follow them in such dense woods, and Bren pointed out that he doubted they would know about the secret path leading directly to town that Beyal had magically known about.

Taking the secret path would also cut their trip down to an hour and a half in the face of them taking the main road and spending the next six hours walking.

This was also good, considering the last of the water had also miraculously disappeared this morning, which Jinja and Bren were convinced was Dax's fault.

The guy had complained about having what he called the ' _dry horrors_ ' only the night before which Jinja had concluded was the Lowlander term for ' _greedy_ '.

Dax had _not_ found that amusing.

So mountain it was.

Walking alone through the mountains worried Jinja a little but she tried to think on the bright side.

The only person on the team who had any mountain climbing experience was Beyal, but surely he would keep them safe.

And the quicker the route, the quicker they could all have a hot shower and some hot chocolate.

Jinja's mouth watered.

 _And she could definitely use some hot chocolate._

With everyone eager to get a move on, they packed up what little belongings they still had and set out on their way towards civilization. It was already late in the afternoon and no one wanted to be caught on the mountain side after dark.

Chase took the lead, a blue backpack strung across his back with everyone's Monsuno nestled safely inside.

Although it was kind of playing with fire having everyone's Monsuno in the one pack on the one person, Chase had insisted it would be safer in the long run and minimize everyone's chances of dropping their Monsuno into the woods below, considering everyone but Beyal could no longer feel their hands.

Jinja also couldn't help but think that it was also maybe in part to the fact that she had given in to Dax's taunts and gone full ham on him just this morning, Charger ripping Airswitch to pieces.

Jinja shivered as the wintery air tore through her as the five formed single file.

The path hadn't been too hard to find with Beyal's watchful eyes and Dax's (although she _hated_ to admit it) excellent tracking skills.

In no time, they were on their way.

The best way to describe the path was that it was etched out of what Jinja assumed had once been pillows of snow, ground into an icy road by the shoes of people long passed.

The fresh snow should've covered it long by now, but the path stood clear, stretching towards the sanctuary that was the town.

Maybe someone maintained it or at least came up to salt it or something, she wondered why there was even a path here in the first place.

The path stood above the rest of the woods, falling away to a dense forest below.

For a brief moment, Jinja thought about the animals waiting amongst the thicket of trees and turned over in her mind how far it would be to fall if she lost her step.

 _At the very least it must've been three stories._

She quickly shook the notion from her mind.

Jinja had expected the mountains to be cold but the mountains were _cold_.

The place's beauty was unmatched but _crag_ , it was _freezing!_

Jinja was kind of glad it was so beautiful though, it was a welcome distraction from the biting winds lashing out at her pale face and chapped lips, eating away at the exposed flesh of her hands.

So she focused all her attention into remembering every detail of the scene before her, pretty enough to be remembered in a landscape painting by someone else's hands who were much more skilled than her own.

A lifetime away at home, you could never dream of seeing an unsullied white landscape, of witnessing harsh and rocky cliffs carved out of the earth as if they were moulded by tough, prying fingers, with your own two eyes.

Frosted lakes trickled through the landscape at intervals of every half an hour of walking, and glassed over muddy banks of bodies of ice water dotted here and there haphazardly in between.

At one point whilst she was in stride with Bren, Jinja had caught a glance of a dilapidated wooden house lying forgotten beside a mysteriously large collection of rotting fallen trees far below in the woods.

It looked like no one had lived there in a while, just another forgotten cabin lost in the woods.

She stopped to wonder why someone might choose to live all the way out here completely isolated and away from human touch.

Maybe it was the serenity.

Aside from the crunch of the five's boots on the ice and the occasional _snap_ of a twig as they trudged along the path, Jinja's surroundings were enveloped in pristine silence making this the quietest place Jinja had ever been in her adventures.

Possibly the quietest place Jinja had been _ever._

For a moment Jinja could understand why someone would want to be so far out here all alone.

To be somewhere without the noise pollution of traffic or the beeping of horns.

Somewhere without the hustle and bustle of city folk and people rushing to and fro.

No sounds of morning markets roaring to life at midday on a Sunday or dogs barking behind fences in the distance.

Not even a peep out of the winter birds or the ground dwelling animals scurrying along, nibbling at moss and morsels on the ground.

No rustle of hedgehogs in burrows or the soft scraping of coyote feet as they padded along out of sight, keeping to the inner lip of the pines.

Just silence.

Pure uninterrupted silence.

It was a nice change, but Jinja was glad to have the company of Chase, Bren, Beyal and even Dax accompanying her.

It was almost eerie.

About an hour in, the landscape changed again, the snow underfoot becoming brown and slushy and twice Bren had been pulled to his feet by Chase.

Beyal softly advised that everyone watch their step, leading in front, the slippery ground seeming to pose no threat to him until his feet flew out from underneath him and in an instant he was flat on his back.

Much to Jinja's dismay, Dax roared with laughter as Bren and Chase helped Beyal to his feet and brushed the sludge from his back, who seemed unbothered by his ' _stack_ ', as Dax called it, wheezing something along the lines of that he, a Lowlander, was doing a better job of staying upright than a monk who'd spent his whole life in the mountains.

This was how Jinja found herself talking to Dax as they made way towards the town.

"Do you mind?" Jinja hissed, slowing her pace just enough to walk at Dax's side and punch him hard in the shoulder. "In case you haven't noticed we're all a little worn out."

A theatrical hiss escaped Dax's lips as he rubbed his shoulder playfully.

"Ouch, _princess_ ," He whimpered, the pet name Jinja hated so much rolling deliberately off his tongue. "Even you gotta admit it was kinda funny. _Mr. Monkfish from the vast and unforgiving mountain side!_ " Dax drawled, his hands waving about. "Fallin' on his arse before me, a _Lowlander_ , as big an opposite to this death trap than anyone else on this little team of ours!"

Jinja huffed indignantly and poked Dax in the ribs for good measure. It wasn't easy with the heavy jacket that donned his torso. "Like I said, we're all exhausted." She tutted. "Give the guy a break."

"Awww," Dax cooed and Jinja resisted the urge to punch him again. "Don't be like that! If it worries you that much, I won't make fun of your _boyfriend_ again."

" _He's not my boyfriend!"_ Jinja hissed, actually punching Dax this time on his lower arm.

Her eyes darted to Beyal, within hearing distance just ahead.

He didn't look like he knew any better but Bren's shoulders were shaking as he very clearly fake coughed into his hand to stifle a giggle.

 _"Quiet, Bren!"_ She whispered, loud enough for him to hear, and suddenly Chase was coughing too.

She stiffened and shot Dax her filthiest, most demeaning look.

Half the time, she didn't know why she bothered.

Dax could literally be the _worst_ human being at times.

A crooked grin stretched across Dax's face as he held up both hands in surrender. "Okay, alright, _princess_ , I'm just saying it'd be nice if ya had a sense of humour sometimes."

Jinja frowned. " _I have a sense of humour!"_

"Sure, _sweetheart_ ," Dax laughed, shoving his hands into his pockets. " _Jinja the jokester,_ I'm sure that's what they called you back home, hey?" He snickered, giving her a mischievous sideways glance.

Jinja felt her cheeks burn.

If he kept this up she was seriously gonna _end him._

"Call me _sweetheart_ again and I'll shove you off the cliff!" She fumed, shoving an dangerously accusing finger under his nose.

"Alright, got it!" Dax batted away her pointer with ease. "Geez, woman, you need me a sense of humour like mine."

Dax pointed a thumb towards himself with zest.

"It comes in handy being able to have a laugh, it's useful in any situation and everything's bloody hilarious! I'd say my humour is world class!"

He puffed out his chest proudly and Jinja didn't have to look at him to see that self righteous smirk on his face.

She could _hear_ it in his _voice_.

Exasperated, Jinja settled on rolling her eyes.

As much as it hurt, sometimes it was easier to pretend she agreed with Dax and hung off his every word in the hopes that he might shut up.

"Yeah, well," she sighed, sick of his antics. "We can't all be as great as you."

 _She'd had enough Dax for one day_ , time to walk up front and talk to Beyal who, if she was being one hundred percent honest, she'd rather talk to any day over Dax.

She quickened her stride, tossing her fiery hair over her shoulder and pulling her hood over her head.

She started going over in her head what she might want to talk about with him, considering that whenever she talked to Beyal, even over the most trivial and mundane things, left her tongue-tied, it was better to go in with a game plan.

She was thinking about bringing up the last run in with S.T.O.R.M seeing as it's all the others and Beyal seemed to ever talk about as of lately.

That would surely be a good conversation starter, and then from there she could work her way up to some more personal questions.

Like _did this place reminded him of his home, and if so, how?_

She wanted to know everything, to see his thoughts in the form of his meticulous and calculated words.

From there maybe she could ask him if _he was missing the other monks and who did he miss and why?_

And from there maybe she could ask him if _he was looking for a girlfriend right now._

Jinja felt the tiniest of blushes tinge her cheeks.

With the perfect strategy already in place talking to Beyal might actually go well today.

 _Or not._

Dax matched her stride with ease and Jinja scoffed.

Jinja had always been considered tall but Dax was by far taller.

 _Damn those long legs._

" _What do you want?_ " She moaned, keeping her eyes on Beyal.

To say she was irritated that he'd interrupted her daydream session was an understatement.

His silence only ticked her off more.

 _She was about to blow a fuse._

" _What?"_ she demanded, tearing her eyes away from Beyal's slender figure and finding herself lost in Dax's dark eyes.

His eyes bore into hers and she was surprised by the intensity in his glare.

A million thoughts and feelings hit Jinja at once and for a second, she wondered if he'd come to apologise for being, _well_ , _Dax_.

But Dax didn't apologize, he didn't do apologies.

Nope, he was just _staring_.

Staring deeply into her eyes without blinking, not even when he registered the evolving look of confusion on her face, which he'd usually jump at the opportunity to poke fun at.

Jinja stared back, her eyes watering as she tried not to blink.

 _Was this some kind of impromptu staring contest?_

Being competitive as always, Jinja held his piercing gaze for as long as she could, squinting until she could hold her eyes open no longer.

She blinked.

Still nothing.

 _What?_

What was he trying to pull?

Was he trying to make her feel _uncomfortable?_

Because he sure as hell was succeeding.

She felt kind of _naked._

And then suddenly, he blinked.

He looked at her, to Beyal and back to her again.

Jinja raised an eyebrow quizzically.

Dax returned the look.

He licked his lips.

He bent at the waist as he leaned down to Jinja's height, something that usually would've irked her but her curiosity outweighed the endless frustration of Dax's unexplainable antics.

He brought his mouth close to her ear.

Dax whispered something under his breath, too quiet for her to hear.

A wave a hot breath fanned her cheek as she fought a shiver creeping down her spine.

" _What?"_ Jinja said in a tiny voice, barely above a whisper.

She should've known better, the feel of his impish smile so close to her face, his breath bated in anticipation.

His lips brushed the top of her ear as his fingers touched her shoulder.

And with a final squeeze of her shoulder he delivered the killing blow.

"I said," Dax whispered, and she could feel him holding back a laugh. _"Get you some of that Monkfish ass."_

Jinja had no idea how she ended up on top of him but in an instant her legs were wrapped around his waist, her hands slapping at his torso furiously.

" _Whoa! Easy!_ " Dax yelled over the commotion, trying to catch Jinja's incredibly fast and unbelievably accurate hands. "It was just a _joke!"_

Jinja slid down Dax's body as he shoved her away, in a weirdly careful way that made her heart race, but definitely not in a good way.

 _Was he going easy on her?_

 _Big mistake_ cause she was going to beat the absolute _crag_ out of him!

Her feet found the ground, not caring that the ice threatened to trip her up at any moment, wrestling Dax's searching hands as he tried to grab her by the shoulders.

She'd seriously had it with him and all his stupid jokes and being a jerk all the time.

Out of everyone in the group, he singled her out the most.

 _Why was he so bent on pissing her off all the time?_

She was way too tired to be dealing with him today.

 _She couldn't take it anymore._

"Why do you always make fun of me?" She raved, landing a blow on his chest.

"What?" Scoffed Dax.

" _Oh boy_ , here we go." Bren sighed.

"You always single me out!" Jinja yelled, kicking his boot with a swift foot. "You think it's funny to piss me off just to get a reaction out of me cause no one else pays attention to you unless you're being a dipshit?"

"Hey, now," Dax hissed back, evading one of her punches. "Where's this all comin' from?"

Unlike her, for once he wasn't yelling back at her. His voice was low, almost as if he was interested in what had set her off.

 _But Jinja didn't care._

 _How could she right now?_

He was a pain in her ass and he _needed_ to know it.

"Look," Dax offered his hand. " _Princess_ ," He said, in what was possibly the quietest and the friendliest voice she had ever heard him use.

 _But she was too far strung along now._

"No!" Yelled Jinja, slapping his hand away. "Seriously Dax, _back off!"_

It was all to late that Jinja realised her back was to the woods below.

 _"Jinja!"_ Came a unison of voices.

 _Bren's?_

 _Beyal's?_

 _Chase's?_

 _Dax's?_

She couldn't figure out whose.

Her eyes squeezed shut as her legs slid out from underneath and she tumbled backwards.

The sensation was brief and over as quickly as it started.

Jinja opened her eyes.

Something soft was pressed around her body, something gripped her tight around her waist.

For the briefest of moments she could've _sworn_ she had lost her balance.

She looked down at her torso, her hands flying to her middle.

She had _sleeves_ wrapped around her?

No, not sleeves.

 _Arms._

She felt a wave of hot breath billow over the nape of her neck and just like that something inside her brain clicked.

Her arms and legs shot out everywhere as she rolled, evading to the left. She pried her hands underneath the arms encasing her body, tearing herself free, ignoring the groan from Dax underneath her.

Jinja leapt to her feet, putting as much distance between her and Dax as possible.

 _Was this some kind of sick joke?_

He never usually touched her except for when he was poking her or pinching her playfully when he teased her.

 _He'd gone too far this time._

He rose to his feet, his back turned to her as he ran a tentative hand over his shoulder blade.

He turned to face her, and her heart skipped a beat.

 _What was with that look?_

Jinja didn't have time to react as he sauntered to her side in a second, his hands on her face, his thumbs brushing her cheeks.

"You alright?" He asked in a low voice, a tone that Jinja had never heard him use before.

Was it _concern?_

 _Was he actually concerned right now?_

Jinja's mind whirled.

 _What the hell was going on?_

 _Was this some kind of wild dream?_

 _Had she passed out?_

He _never_ acted like this.

Dazed and confused, Jinja reacted the only way she knew.

She pushed him away.

"Don't touch me!"

She opened her mouth to yell at him some more but the insults died on her tongue as she took in his face.

 _Seriously, what was with that expression?_

He stepped towards her. " _Princess_ , I-"

She took a step back. "I swear to _god_ , Dax, call me ' _princess_ ' one more time and I'll-"

Her eyes fell on his hair, to his shoulders and his jacket.

 _He was covered in snow._

Of course he had snow on him before he'd straight up _hugged_ her ( _if that was the word for it_ ), snow had been falling long before they'd even reached the path, they'd be covered in snow for days.

 _But not like this._

A light dusting maybe, a speck here and there in their hair and on the coats.

 _But not covered in it._

Jinja gasped, looking down at her own figure.

 _Covered in snow._

And then it struck her like an electric shock.

 _The path._

Her eyes darted around her surroundings frantically, at everything that lay in front of her, at the ground at her feet.

 _Nothing but white._

 _But where had the path gone?_

All the breath left her.

 _Had they just fallen?_

Jinja's head snapped up.

Sure enough, far above Bren, Chase and Beyal's tiny faces stared down at them from the edge of the path, shouting in echoed voices.

Jinja's head spun.

 _It hasn't felt like she was falling._

 _She hadn't believed for a moment she was falling at all._

A switch flicked in her brain.

 _Because Dax had shielded her with his body._

She felt her heart leap up to her throat, pounding sickeningly fast.

 _She and Dax had fallen some three stories in a matter of seconds._

All she could think was _thank god_ for the snow.

And that was when the second realization hit her.

Several seconds to fall but hours of climbing ahead of them up a cliff with no footholds or ledges to help them.

 _And it was already getting dark._

 _No supplies._

 _No food._

 _No water._

 _There was no way they were getting back up to the pathway tonight._

A voice broke through Jinja's chaotic, disorientated head.

For a moment she struggled to put a finger on who the voice belonged to, the roaring in her head and ears deafening, almost as if she was still falling the two second fall from the pathway.

It took her several moments to pinpoint the voice as belonging to Chase.

"Is Jinja okay?"

"I'm fine, Chase!" Jinja heard herself yell, as if she wasn't the one yelling at all.

"We're going to get help!" Came Bren's voice, near inaudible in the howling wind. "Don't move! We'll be back!"

"Beyal knows how to get back here!" Yelled Chase and she could just make out Beyal nodding through the snow. "Sit tight! Don't move!"

The snow picked up, blinding the three from view just as a thought hit Jinja.

"Chase, _wait!"_ Jinja screamed, waving her arms around desperately. "Chase! The Monsuno! Throw down the backpack!"

She waited, her heart drumming in her chest.

"Chase!"

The snow cleared.

 _Chase and the others were gone._

No, she couldn't panic, she wasn't allowed to panic.

Chase would be back, he wouldn't leave her to die like this.

 _Calm down, Jinja,_ Jinja thought to herself.

 _Help was coming._

But in the mean time, she had to make sure she was alive enough to call out to them when they did return.

Jinja unzipped her jacket, glimpsing a sideways look at Dax, who hadn't moved from his spot, his eyes on her fingers wrapped around the zipper.

She fixed him with a dirty look.

Not only did she have to deal with surviving but Dax too.

She loosened the jacket from her arms, pulling it from her body. "Don't get any ideas." She hissed, walking to the hill face and throwing it on the ground.

She walked back over to Dax, taking his forearm in her grasp, unzipping his jacket in one tug.

She swore he blushed for a second. "What are you doin'?" He demanded, his eyes shifting from her face to her hand. He flinched away from her touch.

Jinja grabbed his arm again, more roughly this time, and towed him over to the hill side.

With a shove she pushed him into a sitting position, he grunted as he fell to the ground.

Dax crossed his legs, looking up at her with a glare halfway between distaste and curiosity.

Without taking her eyes off him she sunk to his side, the jacket barely providing enough protection from the wet ground.

She swaddled her arms around her convulsing body, burying her face into her knees.

She could feel Dax's eyes on her.

"You're gonna get hypothermia, y'know." Dax muttered, but for once not _matter-of-factly._

Jinja sighed a muffle sigh, the brief warmth from her breath tickling her face before the cold took it's place.

"That's why I have you." She droned, wincing as the words left her mouth.

She knew what she needed to be done needed to be done, she wasn't an idiot.

And unfortunately that meant cuddling up to Dax.

"What?" Said Dax, confusion betraying his voice. Jinja would've found it funny in a different circumstance. "Like," he paused. "Like a _hug?"_

 _Did he sound kind of hopeful?_

Jinja sighed.

"We need to share body warmth, idiot."

A brief silence passed between them.

It got on Jinja's nerves.

"Okay?" She hissed between gritted teeth.

"Okay." Dax said, his voice hesitant.

She could feel his hand hovering above her back, reaching around her side, like he was trying to figure out where to touch her.

Jinja sighed in frustration.

With two short tugs she yanked on his jacket, his body falling into hers.

He didn't seem to have trouble full body tackling her when they were tumbling down the cliff side.

It was only then that Jinja realized Dax had probably saved her life.

He was below her when she pulled herself off him. His body must've taken the full brunt of the impact.

"Any injuries?"

"Huh?" Came Dax's voice in her hair.

Jinja tried to be patient. "When you fell, did you hurt yourself?"

"Ummm, no," Dax said hesitantly, as if he couldn't believe she was asking him.

Her and Dax had their differences but did he really think she cared that little?

"I mean, my shoulder's probably a little bruised, ya know, cause I fell on it."

"Where do we go from here?" Jinja asked, leaning to Dax's stiff body.

He breathed out a long uninterrupted breath and seemed to relax a little." I guess we needa wait it out. If we stay close to the cliff they should find us pretty quick."

"Town isn't that far away." Jinja whispered, more to reassure herself.

She didn't know what kind of animals prowled these woods, and if predators came for them they had no means to defend themselves.

If only Chase had stuck around a little longer.

 _No Monsuno._

She pushed the thought from her head.

"Like we had half an hour to go, right?" She pressed, seeking a distraction. She didn't want to be left alone to her thoughts.

Dax nodded. "Yeah, sounds about right."

"They'll find us in no time." Jinja said with forced resolution.

 _She needed to be brave._

 _But she didn't feel very brave._

As robust and strong Jinja was in the face of danger Jinja had never really considered herself to be all that brave.

Especially when she felt so alone, stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with someone she could barely get along with.

 _What if help never came and she died out here without telling Beyal she liked him?_

 _What if she died out here without ever seeing her Mom again and telling her she loved her?_

She couldn't afford to be thinking like that, not if she wanted to get out of here alive, but she couldn't keep at bay the despair that ebbed away at the vulnerable parts of her mind.

 _If only Dax hadn't been an ass wipe she wouldn't be in this situation._

It was a brief, passing thought but Jinja suddenly felt very angry.

"Why did you shove me? Jinja demanded, lifting her face just enough to met Dax's eyes.

Dax raised his eyebrows, he blinked, her words sinking in, and then they settled into a deep set frown. "Correction, _princess_ , you fell."

 _"I did not!"_ Jinja insisted. "You pushed me!"

Dax clicked his tongue in irritation, his features scrunching up.

" _Princess,_ please, after you ruthlessly attacked me, for tryin' to lighten the mood, you slipped on the ice and fell arse first like your _Monkfish_ boyfriend, only ya didn't fall arse first to the ground, but arse first a billion meters down a bloody cliff face."

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!" Was all Jinja managed to retort back.

Her mind was an absolute mess.

 _Why wouldn't Dax lay off for just once?_

Dax sighed in frustration, rolling his eyes. "Boy pal, friend who's a boy, boy ya wanna date, whatever." He droned, a cold glint in his eye. "But you slipped and fell _princess_ , that I can assure you. You ask _Glasses_ or _Baby Suno_ , they'll tell ya the same when they get back."

For once Jinja chose not to take up the opportunity to argue.

Four days of non-stop trekking.

 _She was too exhausted._

So she took the pacifist approach.

"How long do you think it'll be until they get back?"

Dax blinked at the sudden change in subject but recollected himself quickly.

"Maybe..." he hesitated, thinking. "Well, I ain't never been this far up North before so I dunno the town." He reached up a hand to rub his eye. "I'm guessing emergency services are all the way in town so _Suno_ and _Glasses_ will have to lodge a report and then they'll have to get all their gear and big boy clothes on and _Monkfish_ will have to bring 'em right back to his very spot." He managed all in one breath.

Jinja raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

Dax fixed her with a glassy look. "Could be anytime between three hours or two days at most if I'm bein' honest with ya."

All the colour drained out of Jinja's face.

 _"Two days?"_

Now she was panicking.

"At most," Dax echoed, pushing a dreadlock away from his face. He didn't seem too bothered by the time frame. _Something was seriously wrong with him_. "If we stay put, they'll find us before then."

But Jinja couldn't shake the crippling possibility of 48 hours out in the middle of a snow storm, already starving and already way too cold.

"Dax, we'll be dead by then!" Jinja shrilled, grabbing the front of his jacket with desperate hands.

 _"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"_ Dax grabbed her hands, pulling them towards him. " _At most_ , Jinja, they'll find us before then

"I don't wanna die in a snow storm." Jinja moaned, hiding her face in her sleeves.

Her throat burned and her eyes itched.

 _Was she seriously on the brink of tears right now?_

 _Her?_

 _On the brink of tears?_

 _Was she going into shock or something?_

She was not going to cry in front of Dax, _no way._

But he seemed to pick up on it anyways.

Dax sighed.

"What makes ya think you're gonna die?"

His voice was controlled, gentle.

 _He was pretending not to notice._

Jinja fought a sniffle.

"I dunno, Dax," she moaned, biting down on her lip. "It barely snows where I came from." Her voice was croaky. "I don't do snow."

Dax's hand found the planes of her shoulder blades. "Join the club," he said, patting her once. "It never snows where I'm from, ever." She felt him shrug against her body. "Ya know you have the advantage on me. I didn't even see snow for the first time until l met you guys, it's completely foreign to me. I'm like a bloody bunyip caught in the headlights."

Jinja ran the back of her hand over her eye.

There was something oddly comforting about his words.

She even managed a weak laugh, her head falling onto Dax's shoulder.

"What?" He grumbled but also sounded a little amused.

"The hell's a _bunyip_?" Jinja asked with a tiny giggle.

Now Dax was smiling. "Rat lookin creature with the ugliest mug you've ever seen." He said, stretching his legs out in front of him. "You take one look at this thing and you die of shock the poor fella is so hideous. No creature in the history of creatures ever has looked like a hippo and a possum at the same time."

Maybe it was the shock or the direness of the situation finally getting to her but Jinja started to laughed, a little at first but gradually growing in volume until it echoed around the woods, Dax eventually joining in after a moment's hesitation.

 _And it actually made her feel a little better._

A little calmer even.

"Well," Jinja sighed after finally catching her breath. "At least we don't have to worry about bunyips out here."

"Too right." Dax snorted, his body shaking with the remains of laughter.

Jinja lapsed into silence, feeling more hope than she'd felt before tumbling off the path.

I _t was going to be okay._

 _She just had to wait it out._

 _And she had Dax._

 _It wouldn't be all that bad._

She titled her head back against the cliff, her eyes fixed on the path.

 _Help was coming soon._

 **OoOoOoOoOo**

 **A/N: And that's that! I used to write so much Jinja x Dax years ago and it really felt good to write about it again! I pulled an all nighter for this one, I was so pumped on this idea! Once again, please review to let me know what you think or tell me if you want more! Constructive criticisms are more than welcome! Thank you so much for reading! ~ KennBoKenn**


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